Justice News

Rhode Island Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Traveling to Connecticut to Engage in Sex with a Minor

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that NICHOLAS MURPHY, 27, of Exeter, R.I., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for traveling to Connecticut to engage in sex with a minor.

According to court documents and statements made in court, MURPHY communicated with a minor victim through online platforms including Facebook. The victim told MURPHY that she was 16 years old when, in fact, she was 14.

In May and June 2015, MURPHY travelled from Rhode Island to Connecticut to meet the victim. On at least one occasion during this time, MURPHY engaged in illicit sexual conduct with the minor victim in his truck.

On the evening of September 16, 2015, after communicating on Facebook, MURPHY drove from Rhode Island to Connecticut to meet the victim. MURPHY knew that the victim was sneaking out of her home without her parents’ knowledge to meet him. MURPHY picked up the victim in his truck and then drove to a secluded area where he and the victim engaged in illicit sexual conduct.

MURPHY was arrested on related state charges on May 9, 2016. On June 5, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of traveling to engage in illegal sexual activity with a minor. He has been detained since that date.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Plainfield Police Department, Rhode Island State Police and the U.S. Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford.